How Could You?
by JitterbugCG
Summary: Oneshot. Zuko and Jin meet again after Azula has taken control of Ba Sing Se


"Let go of me!" Jin yelled, trying to pull away from the grip of the Dai Li agent that was holding her.

"You're coming with us, miss," he said roughly.

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Azula sat idly in the Earth King's throne, enjoying a rare moment of quiet, waiting for the nobility of Ba Sing Se to arrive. She had planned an assembly with them all to lay down some ground rules, now that she was in control of the city. She was vaguely annoyed that they were taking so long. If they kept her waiting much longer… She smiled wickedly. She would enjoy making examples out of these spoiled Earth Kingdom people.

She surveyed the hall before her. Zuko stood on her right and her new "advisor" Long Feng stood to her left. (She didn't trust him at all, but she figured it was safest to keep him close.) Ty Lee was stretching at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the throne. Mai was sitting at the bottom as well, practicing her aim by throwing her knives at one of the nearby columns. She looked decidedly bored.

Azula was quite bored too, and now she was beginning to get angry. Where were these idiotic people? Didn't they know not to keep the Fire Nation Princess waiting?

Suddenly the large door at the end of the hallway burst open to emit several Dai Li agents leading a group of rag-tag city dwellers. Azula's eyes flashed.

"What is going on here? Who gave you permission to come in here?" she demanded. The Dai Li agents bowed before her and forced their prisoners to kneel.

"My lady," said one of them, stepping forward. "There was a minor uprising in the city. We thought you might want to deal with them personally. To make an example."

Azula frowned at his tone. She didn't like people giving her suggestions of what to do. But she decided to ignore it for the time being. She could always deal with him later. She surveyed the prisoners before her. They were kneeling before her with their heads bowed, but she could see that they were a sorry bunch to day the least. There was a young man and woman, probably husband and wife, an older man, and a teenage girl. They looked like little more than peasants.

Azula felt Zuko shift uncomfortably next to her. She saw him lower his head out of the corner of her eye.

"You there," she said, pointing to the young man. "Tell me what happened." The man gulped audibly and kept his eyes on the floor.

"Well, you see, princess," he said in a shaky voice. "This old man runs a fruit stand in the city and my wife and I went to buy some fruit from him. When we got there he was arguing with one of the city guards. Something about money –"

"Extortion is what it is!" the old man cried. The Dai Li agent standing behind him kicked him roughly.

"And I was trying to defend him. And the situation… escalated," the man continued. Azula resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. This was not worth her time. These people weren't organized rebels. Some idiot guard was trying to extort from the peasants and started a street brawl. And now the Dai Li wanted her to make an example of these people so they could justify their extortion. There were two problems with this situation. First of all, she would not have disorder in her streets. And second of all, she would not allow her guards to extort money unless she was given a share. At least she could deal with easily.

"And what about you," she said, gesturing to the girl. "What's you're story?"

"Guards come by my house all the time demanding money," she said softly. "I just don't think it's fair –"

"Fair?" Azula laughed. "Fair has nothing to do with it! You live in my city now and you will follow my rules. There will be no fighting in the streets. Do you understand me?"

"Princess –" the girl looked up from the first time and froze. Azula followed her gaze, to see that it rested on none other than Zuko. He had his head bowed and he looked like he was trying to disappear. Azula smiled once more. Perhaps this would be more interesting than she thought.

"Is something wrong?" she asked the girl in her sweetest voice.

"Lee?" the girl whispered in a strangled voice. "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"Lee? Who's Lee?" Azula asked wickedly, looking at Zuko expectantly. He did not respond, but kept his head down.

"I know it's you, Lee," the girl said. "What's going on?" The girl looked at Azula. "Is he a prisoner?" she asked savagely. Azula was a bit taken aback by this girl's boldness. But once again, she decided to let it go. She was going to have fun with this girl.

"A prisoner?" Azula chuckled. "Of course not. And his name isn't Lee. It's Zuko. Prince Zuko actually. Of the Fire Nation."

The look of utter shock and horror on the girl's face was absolutely priceless. Azula was delighted.

"I take it you two know each other?" she asked. The girl looked at a loss for words.

"Prince of the Fire Nation?" she cried. "I went into your tea shop every day! I trusted you!" Tears were welling up in the girl's eyes. "I … I … I kissed you." The last part she said in a whisper, but Azula caught it. This was just getting better and better by the moment.

"Oh, so this is your little girlfriend Zuzu?" she asked. Zuko still wasn't looking up. He couldn't bear to meet the girl's gaze. It was clear to Azula that he cared about her, at least to some extent. Sometimes Azula couldn't even believe that this boy was her brother. He was just so _weak_.

"Get them out of my sight," Azula barked to the Dai Li. "I'll have Zuzu here think of a nice punishment for you, okay?" she said to the peasants in her most patronizing voice. She could tell that it would kill Zuko to have to punish this girl. But she would make sure he would do it. And she would make sure he didn't go easy on her. And perhaps, Zuko would come out stronger in the end. More hardened to the world. Now he was just so soft and emotional. He was hardly useful to her. But she would make him useful. And then when she was done, she would cast him aside. And she would rule the Fire Nation.

"One of you stay here," Azula said to the Dai Li. She watched the guards drag away the prisoners. The girl was fighting their grip. She was quite a fiesty one.

"Lee, how could you?" the girl cried before the Dai Li dragged her out the door.

Azula looked over to see a lone tear run down Zuko's cheek out of his good eye.

"You'll be better off without her, Zuko," Azula said, using her most persuasive tone. She placed a hand on his shoulder. He still refused to meet her eyes. "Attachments are for the weak. I need you to be strong, and father needs you to be strong so that the Fire Nation can be triumphant."

Zuko turned and walked away.

"I need to rest," he said gruffly. Azula wasn't concerned. He was so easy to manipulate.

"Now," she said, turning to the Dai Li agent that remained before her. "What is this about extortion?"

The Dai Li agent opened his mouth but Azula cut him off.

"I want fifty percent," she said sharply. "I don't care what you do as long as I get fifty percent. And if I find out that I am not getting everything I'm owed, there will be consequences."

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Zuko walked back to his room with a heavy heart. He was wracked with feelings of guilt and shame. He tried to forget the way her dark eyes bored into him. He tried to forget how kind she had been to him. She was one of the few people that ever had been. And now… Zuko was beginning to doubt whether all this was worth it. For some reason, he had been so much happier when he was serving tea. He wanted more than anything to be accepted by his father and his country. But at these costs? He tried to tell himself he was doing the right thing. He had a duty to the Fire Nation. But for some reason he couldn't forget the way she had kissed him. And he couldn't forget the anguish in her voice when she cried, "How could you?"

A/N: Angsty Zuko!!! Yeah that was just some randomness I thought of. I hope you enjoyed it. Plese review!


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